The long wait for a press club in the State has ended with creation of “The Press Club Odisha” here on Tuesday. The club will not only bring together the journalist fraternity in the State but also help fight for their cause and protect their interest in a more organised and purposeful manner.
At a meeting which was attended by the heads of all major news dailies circulating in the State and TV news channels, the presidium of the club was chalked out. Editor of “Sambad” Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Editor of “Dharitri” Tathagata Satpathy, Managing Director of OTV Jagi Mangat Panda and Dipak Malavya of Lok Sevak Mandal were unanimously nominated as members of the presidium.
Speaking on the occasion, Patnaik said the press club was a necessity in Odisha which was probably the only State not to have one till now. This move will bring journalists to a common platform and work for their welfare, he said. Satpathy highlighted the past attacks on mediapersons and said the club will provide a platform to fight for them. Editor of “Pragativadi” Samahit Bal said the membership of the club will have to reach 300 in next three months.
Editor of “Samaja” Gopala Mohapatra also spoke. While Jagi Mangat Panda presided the meeting, MD of “Odisha Bhaskar” Madhu Mohanty was the convenor.